Rainhill VAT fraudster told to pay more than £43,000 or face extra prison time

Terence Paul Jackson, 57, of Galston Avenue in Rainhill, had a Proceeds Of Crime Act hearing in Liverpool Crown Court. He must repay stolen VAT plus interest and penalties, totalling £43,726, within three months or face another 12 months behind bars.

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A FRAUDSTER from Rainhill who stole more than £41,000 in VAT repayments for a fake consultancy business has been ordered to repay his ill gotten gains or serve extra time behind bars.

Terence Paul Jackson, 57, of Galston Avenue, had A Proceeds Of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, April 12.

He pleaded guilty to being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of Value Added Tax (VAT) in January and was jailed for 12 months.

A HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) spokeswoman said that Jackson set up a bio-oils consultancy company, trading as Jackson Cooper Ltd in 2009 and then submitted multiple VAT repayment claims over six years.

The spokeswoman said that the business was a ‘complete sham’ which never traded and that Jackson ‘invented’ all the financial records, company expenses, purchasing and travel receipts so he could steal the VAT.

Before a routine visit from a tax inspector in 2015, Jackson confessed his tax theft over the phone to HMRC, later being charged with VAT fraud in December 2015 and pleading guilty in January at Liverpool Crown Court.

At the same court, the POCA hearing heard that Jackson had rented out three properties in Rainhill and Manchester, which generated a monthly income of £1,290, which he never declared.

The HMRC spokeswoman added that the defendant also had several pension and savings investments totalling £170,000 and has now been ordered to repay the stolen VAT plus interest and penalties, totalling £43,726, within three months.

If he does not, an extra 12 months will be added to his current jail sentence.